The Merry Introverts of the Internet

Ever known someone who was shy and awkward in real life, but a veritable life of the party online? It's called the "Online Disinhibition Effect" - where the anonymity of being online allows people to lose their inhibitions. It's also why so many introverts we know are so darn extroverted online. Spark contributor Sandra Ferrari had a recent awakening about being a "Netrovert" and brings us her story.

SparkHacking online marketingOct 17, 2014 | 7:48Online marketing uses lots of techniques to target shoppers, like offering different prices to different web visitors based on how much marketers think they'll pay. Turns out consumers can use that targeting to their own advantage.

Spark262: Tracking and hacking online marketing. An online country club. Phone calls for the hard of hearing. Autism and text communication. Sound innovation.Oct 19, 2014 | 53:59From tablets for people with autism, to the invention of radio -- the surprising, serendipitous path of innovation. Plus, ever wonder who knows what about you when you go online? We'll look at tracking and hacking online marketing.

SparkAd trackingOct 19, 2014 | 6:17Online ads target us and now follow us wherever we go online. Ashkan Soltani says this is invasive, so he's created Floodwatch to increase awareness about online advertising and tracking.

SparkRogerVoiceOct 19, 2014 | 8:08Olivier Jeannel is deaf, but he wanted to be able to make a phone calls. So he created RogerVoice, a mobile app that transcribes phone conversations in real time so that deaf and hard of hearing people can talk on the phone.

Spark258: Notification vacation. Procrastination and reminders. Digital sabbaticals. The End of Absence.Sep 14, 2014 | 53:59Take a notification vacation. Why digital reminders might lead to procrastination. Unplugging for a year. And contemplating technology's role in the end of absence.

SparkGeorge Siemens on personal educationApr 27, 2014 | 9:53Today's students leave lots of data trails - from demographic information, to how they read and highlight ebooks, and interact online. Researcher George Siemens explains how analyzing data about the way students learn lets schools customize education.